None The Nature Conservancy in Washington Press Releases Search All Press Releases Robin Stanton, The Nature Conservancy, (206)343-4345, ext 338, rstanton@tnc.org ** Betsy Bloomfield, The Nature Conservancy, (509)248-6672, bbloomfield@tnc.org ** Phil Rigdon, Yakama Nation, (509)865-5121

Yakama Nation Joins Partnership to Restore Forests

October 25, 2007 — The Yakama Nation is joining an innovative partnership focused on restoring the health, natural structure, and productivity of forests and shrub-steppe in south central Washington.

The Tapash Sustainable Forests Collaborative was established in May  2006 by The Nature Conservancy, US Forest Service, and Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Department of Natural Resources. The purpose was to encourage greater cooperation and coordination among these major landowners on issues ranging from forest health to recreation.

Lavina Washines, the chairwoman of the Yakama Nation Tribal Council, signed the partnership’s Memorandum of Understanding earlier this week at the nation’s headquarters in Toppenish. Representatives of the other agencies signed the memorandum today at the Society of American Foresters conference being held in Portland.

The collaborative provides a way for its members to plan and work together. With the Yakama Nation’s involvement, the group will be focusing on forest management across about 2 million acres in Kittitas and Yakima counties.

Tieton River Canyon Photo © Keith Lazelle

“It’s an opportune time for us all to work together to address serious risks to forest health associated with fire exclusion,” said Phil Rigdon, deputy director of the Yakama Nation’s Department of Natural Resources. “We can do good, sound management, using the best available science and working together with state and federal agencies.”

One early project for the collaborative is planning for prescribed fires across ownership boundaries. Prescribed fires are an important tool for creating healthy forests, and can help to avert catastrophic forest fires by clearing out underbrush that will fuel major fires.

Plans are underway for the collaborative to undertake its first prescribed fire in the spring of 2008.

“It’s exciting to see the emergence of a collaborative way to resolve critical natural resource issues,” said David Weekes, the executive director of The Nature Conservancy’s Washington Chapter.

“The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Yakama Nation are natural allies in protecting critical habitats for fish and wildlife,” said Jeff Koenings, Ph.D., WDFW director. “The Yakama Nation’s expertise and commitment is an important addition to this interagency effort to save the working forests of the east Cascades and protect the habitat that produces fish and wildlife.”

“The Yakama Nation not only has extensive experience managing forest and range lands in Central Washington, but it also has treaty rights on public lands in the area,” said Becki Heath, Okanogan-Wenatchee Forest supervisor. “They will be a welcome addition to this partnership.”

Originally organized as the Tieton Forest Collaborative, the group adopted the new name of Tapash Sustainable Forests Collaborative to reflect a vision that is larger than the Tieton Canyon, to take in the dry forests that cover the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains in Kittitas and Douglas counties. Tapash is a Yakama word meaning ponderosa, the signature tree of the forests of the east slope of the Cascade Mountains

In working to draft the agreement, the parties identified several areas where cooperation makes sense. Among their shared goals are:
•Natural plant community restoration and control of invasive weeds.
•Science-based management tools, including use of prescribed fire to restore forest health.
•Management of recreation use and access.
•Recovery of animals listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
•Ongoing land protection.
•Knowledge of affected lands and resources.

The knowledge gained through this collaborative process will be shared to promote dry-site forest and shrub-steppe restoration in other parts of eastern Washington and the eastern Cascades.

You can also contact Patty Henson, DNR, (360) 902-1023; Margaret Ainscough, WDFW, (360) 902-2408; or Paul Hart, US Forest Service, (509) 664-9314, for information on their agencies’ participation.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.